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Why Siteground? 3 Great Reasons – #3 Awesome Safety!

Why Siteground?

This is Part 3 of explaining why Siteground web hosting are without equal. The first two parts dealt with customer support and speed.

There are 3 major reasons why I recommend Siteground as a web host. The following is the third reason and one that is equally as important for all site owners and bloggers  – safety!

Safety includes hacking. The last thing you need is your site to be hacked. It happens. By providence I was supplied with evidence of that just before I came to write this post. Facebook pointed me in the direction of a group that was possibly of interest to me. Reading through the first few posts on the group page, this caught my eye. I clicked on the link and reproduce it for you in full –

First things first, I need to apologize to all my valued visitors and blog subscribers for the disruption of my service. My site was hacked a little over a week ago and the result was that all visitors were being redirected to various porn sites.

Last week, I posted this on Facebook: To all my website (Retired in Samar) visitors and subscribers, I regret to inform that my blog has been hacked and all visits are now being directed to different porn sites. After having watched all this porn to ensure its validity (jk), I have decided to redirect my website’s domain to my YouTube account while I decide how to attack and fix this problem. I apologize for this inconvenience and hope anyone hasn’t been too horribly offended (I know a few guys that probably think this is an upgrade and are excited!). I hope to have my site back soon and until then, my loyal followers will be stuck watching my home movies! (videos) Thanks for your understanding. (While this was a serious post, I had to inject some humor into it to help me overcome my own shock and grief. One of my local expat friends mentioned to me that he had seen the post and thought I was joking as usual. While I appreciated the fact that he appreciated my humor, it was hardly the case!)

Anyone who has ever had a website hacked for nefarious reasons knows exactly how frustrating and infuriating it is. When I was first notified by one of my faithful blog subscribers that I had been hacked, I immediately went to the address he provided me and there it was… PORN. I’m sure everyone is familiar with the sound a heart monitoring machine makes when a Code Blue occurs. When that first re-directed page was displayed on my monitor, all I could hear was that infamous “flatline” tone as it dominated my entire thought process. It is like being violated in the Nth degree and what’s worse, you will never find those responsible nor will you ever be able to kick somebody’s ass for a justified and simple satisfaction. It is a totally helpless feeling knowing that there is absolutely nothing you can do, and along with the added uncertainty of recovering the site, it is an almost unmatched sinking feeling. I my case, I have compiled nearly fours years of writing – over 350 posted articles and hundreds more files and photos in the website library. Where did I go wrong? I failed in my own due diligence to keep my site backed up! While I thought my hosting service was performing auto-backups on my behalf, I was mistaken. I failed to ensure that the service was up and functioning. That is totally my fault for not following through. But now that has been fixed.

I came to a crossroads during this last few days when I actually took some pause, considering putting an end to the blog. Throwing in the towel. Calling it quits! And at one point, it would have been as easy as putting a suffering animal to rest with a single shot… like pulling the plug (power plug), literally. Actually, for about 4 days straight, I struggled with this resignation. Yesterday, I went to a fiesta, ate some good food and got re-energized by talking with a few of my fellow expats who also happen to be blog visitors. Having a few beers with these guys was all I needed to get re-inspired to find a solution. After spending a good part of the previous 5 days downloading, reading and researching the “hows” and “what to dos,” yesterday I committed myself to fixing the problem – and I am happy to say, without having to throw copious amounts of money at other “experts” to identify the hacked files, repair them, and return my site to functionality, I went about it on my own. Well, me, myself and the technicians at GoDaddy!

I have purchased and managed many domains through this company in the past and I’ve used them almost extensively for all my domain hosting needs. And I must say that after being with this company for over 9 years, they have outdone themselves. After spending several hours on the phone with three different tech reps today, they all came together in the end, identifying the issues, re-writing lines of code, and helping me to get back online. From walking me through folders and files, to helping me to identify additional vulnerabilities, they were with me all the way to the end. It was a win-win-win today for me. I’ve recovered all my data, I’m back online, and I didn’t have to spend much money doing it. And I am better prepared for what lies ahead.

Now, all that’s left to do is to come up with something new to write about!  Hmmm.

That post was reproduced in full from retiredinsamar.com. Coincidentally, another retired expat living in the Philippines.

I say he has been a lucky man. In two senses, he recovered his files and he says that he was happy with GoDaddy. I have to tell you that was not my experience of web hosting with them. They suck!

Maybe this blogger has a magic phone out there in Samar so he can reach the US toll free number for GoDaddy. The two Philippines numbers on their website may as well be non-existent. No one picks up – ever! Yes, I managed to contact their toll free number once but only by using Google chat.

None of that would have happened with Siteground especially if you go on the Grow Big plan as there are 30 days of backups kept on their server. To prove my point here is a support message [edited] I sent to Siteground –

Today I added an add on domain that I own – xyz.com.
Currently that site is a free WP.com site URL xyz.wordpress.com. I am wanting to transfer all the files & database from the WP site to my add on here with you.
I have no idea how to do it despite reading your KB.
Please send me a step by step idiot guide to how I do it please. I tried today but only succeeded in deleting all my databases! (now restored).
Thank you.

 

I had accidentally deleted all my databases from within the cPanel. Oops! But with one click I was able to restore everything using the automated backup service 🙂

By the way, they also resolved my issue referred to in the above customer support ticket!

They are beyond amazing in their support. You can call them, email them or use the impressive Live Chat system.

Take my word for it and try them for yourself. Click here!

Postscript to the Samar blog – I can tell it is hosted with GoDaddy as it takes ages to load the page! It reminds me of how my site used to behave before I moved to Siteground.

HOW DOES SITEGROUND COMPARE TO OTHER HOSTS?

The results on this page are based on tests with real accounts on 12 of the most popular web hosts on the affiliate market: Bluehost, HostGator, iPage, Fatcow, Justhost, AsmallOrange, InMotion, WebhostingHub, Arvixe, GoDaddy, GreenGeeks and A2Hosting.

SpeedSecuritySupport

Hack Protection

We keep your site safe!

  • WordPress vulnerability: not patched by anyone
  • Joomla vulnerability: not patched by anyone
  • Both vulnerabilities: patched by SiteGround only
SiteGround All 12 Others
WP Touch Patched Vulnеrable
Joomla! VirtueMart Patched Vulnеrable

We tested a WordPress and Joomla related vulnerabilities announce publicly more than a 1 month before the test. On all 12 tested hosts both vulnerability were still exploitable with no problem. At SiteGround both were patched on server level at SiteGround in up to 48 hours after their public announcement: WPTouch vulnerability patch and Virtuemart Vulnerability patch.

Account Isolation

We guard you from your neighbors

  • SiteGround was the first to apply isolation
  • 3 of the tested hosts still not isolated
  • 5 of the tested hosts could be better isolated


SiteGround were the pioneers in applying effective account isolation mechanisms to the shared hosting environment. Nowadays, most of the shared hosts apply similar techniques but it is still possible to see an environment that is not properly isolated.

 

 

 

Try Siteground now!

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Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Siteground. I use them for 3 websites that I operate. They truly are #1 and I have tried four hosts before them. What does that mean to you? You don’t pay an extra cent if you sign up using my link but the small commission they pay me helps offset the costs of operating this site.

 

 

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2 Comments

  1. Retired in Samar Retired in Samar

    In response to your dissatisfaction with GoDaddy, yes I do have a magic number. It is the U.S. number posted on their site. All you need is a skype account and you too can call anywhere in the world. I wouldn’t waste my time with tech reps anywhere else, especially in the Philippines, where nobody answers the phone, answers emails or communicates effectively. GoDaddy also has site backup features which I now employ. My accounts with this hosting company have always been efficiently managed and the folks there have never dropped the ball. As far as the site’s loading time… I would first blame your internet provider, not the site hosting company. You are in the Philippines by the way, right?

    • I am pleased that you are happy with GoDaddy. I had a shocking experience with them and that’s why I say they suck. But that’s only my opinion based on my own experiences with them. Siteground are like a breath of fresh air compared to GD. But if you have never hosted with anyone other than GD, then you have nothing to compare, right?
      A classic symptom of GD is the text right on top of any of their pages if you connect using a Phils IP address. It boldly states “24/7 Support Countrywide:(0923) 099-0453.” That is false. No one ever picks up if you call that number!
      As for Skype, I must confess I wasn’t aware that I can “call anywhere in the world” for free. Mind you, you don’t actually say “for free.” I remain a little skeptical about claims regarding free calls on Skype. Every time I have tried that in the past it always tells me I need credits.
      And as for your loading time, it is quicker today. I don’t believe it was my ISP as I have a 3mpbs connection and no other site was affected. I think what caused it to load slowly was some weird pop-up that didn’t appear to be yours. It was a Facebook pop-up for some company or other. Maybe you still have gremlins? 🙂
      As for your last question as to whether I am in the Philippines, I am unable to quell my Brit sense of humor and so feel forced to point out to you that the clue is in the name of this blog 🙂
      Finally, I like your blog!

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